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Buying Blood Oranges

Blood oranges are in season from December through May, though the exact months vary depending on what type of blood orange you’re buying. The Moro variety is available from December through March, while the Tarocco is available from January through May. Blood oranges are readily available during these winter and spring months because the climate where the fruit trees grow plays a role in the formation of the red hue, according to the National Gardening Association. The temperature is thought to play a part in the darkness of the red color and how pronounced it is, but the exact temperature requirements remain unknown, the National Gardening Association reports.

Anthocyanins

The red color of blood oranges is due to the presence of anthocyanins, which are compounds that give many other fruits and vegetables their red, blue or purple colors, as well. Harvesting blood oranges at the peak of freshness ensures the maximum amount of anthocyanins in the fruit. READ MORE

I have been wanting to do an article on White House China for years. I got a chance to visit the Ronald Reagan Library and they had an exhibit on White House China. I hope you enjoy exploring this unique history of the United State demonstrated through China.

Obama Administration

Article from Whitehousemuseum.org– The ground floor China Room is where the White House collection of china is kept. Even the earliest presidents received government funds to purchase state china. However, by a special clause in the appropriation bills, “decayed furnishings” could be sold and the proceeds used to buy replacements. Such “furnishings” included state china, and during the 19th century the cupboards were frequently swept clean and the contents carted off to auction. The money could then be used to order a new china service that better suited the president and his family.

China of Clinton Administration

Even into the 20th century, White House china was often given away if it was chipped or broken. Later, Congress passed a law that required that all presidential china be kept or destroyed. READ MORE and see More.

The China of the Reagan Administration just screams of the style, class and the red of Nancy Reagan. It also reintroduce a trend of the prominent gold band by the Woodrow Wilson and Truman Administrations. – Crystal A. Johnson

A Family Tradition Since 1868
In 1859, Stephen G. Martinelli, a young Swiss, settled in the temperate and fertile Pajaro Valley near Monterey Bay, where the apples were of exceptional quality.

In 1868 he founded S. Martinelli & Company, producing bottle fermented Champagne Cider with apples from California’s first commercial orchards. Martinelli’s Cider soon became well known as the finest available. In 1890 it was awarded the first prize gold medal at the California State Fair, leading to the adoption of the brand trade mark, “Martinelli’s Gold Medal®.”

Where there is a will, there is a way. – Don’t let prohibition stop the family business.

Photo By Crystal Johnson

In 1916, Stephen G. Martinelli Jr. developed a process for making unfermented apple juice, while a student at the University of California. During prohibition, the company grew by specializing in non-alcoholic apple juice products, including the first non-alcoholic sparkling cider. Martinelli’s unique “Golden Apple®” jug was introduced in 1933, along with the slogan, “Drink Your Apple A Day®.”

The Modern Era
Today, S. Martinelli & Company is managed by the founder’s grandson, Stephen C. Martinelli, (Chairman of the Board) and great-grandson S. John Martinelli, (President).

Moreover, the brand is first thought purchasing sparkling cider and many appreciate the non- alcoholic alternative for events.

Continuing plant modernization and expansion, along with improvements in packaging and distribution, have enabled the family owned Martinelli Company to keep pace with consumer demand for premium 100% natural apple juice products.

oonPies have been made at the Chattanooga Bakery since 1917. Earl Mitchell Junior said his father came up with the idea for MoonPies when he asked a Kentucky coal miner what kind of snack he would like to eat, and the miner requested something with graham cracker and marshmallow which had been dipped in chocolate. When Mitchell’s father asked how big it should be, the miner looked up in the night sky and framed the full moon with his hands.[2]

There is a custom for eating moon pies with RC Cola, although the origin of this is unknown.[2] It is likely that their inexpensive prices, combined with their larger serving sizes, contributed to establishing this combination as the “working man’s lunch”. The popularity of this combination was celebrated in a popular song of the 1950s, by Big Bill Lister, “Gimmee an RC Cola and a Moon Pie.”.[3] In 1973, NRBQ had a minor hit with the song, “An RC Cola and a Moon Pie.”

Since New Year’s Eve 2008, the city of Mobile, Alabama raises a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) lighted mechanical moon pie to celebrate the coming of the new year. The giant banana colored MoonPie is raised by a crane to a height of 200 feet (61 m) as the clock strikes midnight.[4] Also, the city had for the 2008 New Year’s celebration the world’s largest moon pie baked for the occasion. It weighed 55 pounds (25 kg) and contained 45,000 calories.[5]

Last year at the Los Angeles Time The Taste, I had the opportunity to try a yellow watermelon. Yes, a watermelon that looks virtually the same on the outside but yellow instead on pink in the inside. It is called the Desert King Watermelon. This fruit grows well in dry conditions. See video below on harvesting the Desert King Watermelon. -Crystal Johnson, MCCN Editor

Did you think that pink lemonade was just a weird but tasty idea. Well, Real pink lemons, called variegated pink-fleshed Eureka lemons, do exist. But pink lemonade usually isn’t made with their juice. READ MORE

Broasting equipment and ingredients are marketed only to food service and institutional customers, including supermarkets and fast food restaurants. They are not available to the general public. The method essentially combines pressure cooking with deep frying chicken that has been marinated and breaded. The company licenses the “broasted” trademark to more than 5,510 purchasers of its equipment who follow its specifications and recipes and undertake a periodic certification process. The arrangement is not a traditional franchise in that the licensee does not owe ongoing royalty payments.

Broasted chicken remains highly popular in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Many restaurants and fast-food chains in these countries have the word “broast” in their names. One such restaurant of global renown is Al Baik exclusively in Western Saudi Arabia.

Bright, spongy, and sweet marshmallow PEEPS are iconic Easter season candies. The poultry shaped treats can be traced back to the 1910 Just

Pink PEEPS Jon Sullivan – Pdphoto.org

Born Candy tradition.

Sam Born emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1910. A skilled candy maker and inventor, Born employed innovative technology to create chocolate sprinkles, the hard chocolate coating for ice cream bars, and a machine that mechanically inserted sticks into lollipops.

In 1923 Brooklyn, New York Born opened his first candy company. In an effort to alert his customers to his products’ freshness, Born daily placed a “Just Born” sign in the company’s window. The name stuck and the Just Born Company was, ahem born.

In 1932 the thriving company moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1953 Born acquired the Rodda Candy Company and with it the iconic PEEPS. Ever the innovative company, Just Born invented a way to mass produce the PEEPS and the company became the world’s largest manufacturer of novelty marshmallow treats.

Not just regulated to yellow baby chickens, PEEPS come in different shapes and colors for all holidays!

The Just Born Company is also responsible for the Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales, and Peanut Chew candy treats.

Guatemala is a country working hard to bring higher visibility and uniform quality to a well-established coffee industry. Not always as well-known as some of its Central and South American neighbors, Guatemala’s coffees have a distinctive taste quality favored by many for its rich flavor. There are three main growing regions — Antigua, Coban and Heuhuetanango — and in each, one finds a breath-takingly rugged landscape and rich volcanic soil. Microclimates strongly influence the quality and flavor of the Strictly Hard Beans grown at altitudes 4500′ or higher. In the cup, a Guatemalan is a medium-to-full bodied coffee, often with a depth and complexity of taste that is almost spicy or chocolatey to the tongue.

Guatemalan coffee is arguably the crown jewel of Central America. That doesn’t not mean all Guatemalan coffees are good … but it does means that the potential on the upside, the possibility of 88+ point coffees, is greater from regions in Guatemala than its neighboring countries. Great Guatemalan coffees have a bright cup character, floral hints, clean fruited notes, moderate body, and a lingering clean aftertaste. With varying qualities, farms ranging from huge estates to tiny small-holders perched on steep slopes, and different cup characteristics from within the same micro-regions, there is much to learn to appreciate the complexity of Guatemala coffee.

The presidential pardoning of one lucky turkey is a fairly modern practice. Although Abraham Lincoln could get unofficial credit according to some historians. Supposedly, their family had a pet turkey that Lincoln’s son viewed as a pet and asked to be spared.

President John F. Kennedy spontaneously spared a turkey on Nov. 19, 1963, just days before his assassination, but did not grant a “pardon.” The bird was wearing a sign reading, “Good Eatin’ Mr. President.” Kennedy responded, “Let’s just keep him.”

In 1989, George H.W. Bush became the first president to pardon a turkey. Before then, turkeys were presented to the president and consumed by the president.

The concept of a turkey pardoning was first mentioned by president Regan as a joke, but H.W. Bush made it all possible with the following words: “This fine Tom turkey, has been granted a presidential pardon as of right now.”